Potage Palaver (greenhouses, companion planting, building beds)

I have been taking advantage of this lovely sunny weather to weed the potager beds and do a bit of puttering and sowing in the greenhouse. Is still early days so am not sowing a lot yet, just a few flowers, peppers and eggplants, so far. 

The tulips are starting to pop up in the beds, the crocus coming up in the flower lawn, and the fall sown sweet peas are an inch high already. It is super exciting! But... don't go planting or sowing things too early, those tulips will take their time coming up, not blooming till April. Lots of wintery weather yet to come. We all know that Mother Nature has a mean streak, when she gives us something nice, it is usually always followed up with something nasty ; ) 

Wondering what I am sowing this month? That is all here in this February Ramblings post.  

Backyard Greenhouses | Centsational Style

Since I missed last week's palaver post, I have a whole bunch of fun things to share this time...

Thinking of getting a greenhouse? Just love to look at the pics? Get some ideas? Check out these fantastic  greenhouses that will make your drool. Backyard Greenhouses | Centsational Style

You really need to have a look at this incredible greenhouse. It is a bit over the top but I sure do love that potting table! Chic Michigan Greenhouse Mixes Modern and Rustic Materials (houzz.com)

Getting ready to prune your fruit trees and roses? Here are all sorts of different pruning tips and terms. To add to the tool list at the bottom of the article... Key Pruning Terms to Help You Shape Up Your Garden (houzz.com) 

I would say that this wee pruning chainsaw is my most favourite thing. It makes pruning so much easier for those of us with arthritic hands. No more throwing all my body weight on the loppers to cut through a branch. Hubby loves it too, is so much faster and easier to use than a pruning saw. If you are on the island, I bought my wee hand held saw at Ajac's in Nanaimo. 

Worried about aphids and other critters in the potager/food garden this spring and summer? Grow companion plants! If you spray, even with an organic soap solution, you kill good guys as well as bad guys, thus disturbing the natural order of things. 

In other words, if you spray once, you will have to keep on spraying throughout the summer, sadly. But... here's the magic.... if you attract beneficial insects into the garden to eat the bad bugs, you will find that you rarely have pest issues, the good guys deal with the bad guys. Working with nature, rather than against it. 

Here is an article about companion planting Companion planting for a healthier, happier garden — Seed Savers Exchange Blog 

Here is a post (I wrote several years ago) with the six things that I do annually for a practically pest free, organic garden - Integrated Pest Management for the home gardener, so to speak ... Organic Pest Control (thenittygrittypotager.blogspot.com)

Here are some pretty pictures of companion flowers that you can direct sow in a few weeks time. The article is in Swedish, you can either use your translate button or just enjoy it for the really pretty, inspirational pictures. Check out those cosmos!  

Looking for a new shed to build or buy? Not sure what to do? Check out this article about buying/building a shed.  

We are now living in house #6 (not including any rentals) so needless to say, we have had a lot of sheds over the years. Some from scratch and some from kits. I gotta say, the best sheds we've ever had are the two kit sheds we bought at Rona for our last property. 

This green one above was my shed while hubby had a really big one (10'x12', I think) that we stained dark brown. His had double doors so you could drive a ride-on-mower into it. I'm not sure why this photo is only of the bottom part of my cute shed... maybe I was showing the brick pathway? The mulch? Anyway, these Rona kit sheds had cedar shake roofs to add to the charm. I loved this little green shed so much; was super easy to keep organised, great for all my tools, pots, bags of soil or manure, and looked fabulous. I think they still sell some comparable cute sheds, I would get another one in a heartbeat.  

Thinking of starting a food garden this year? Or adding to yours? Here are some answers to questions that you may have. Building Materials for a Raised Bed Garden | Pros & Cons | joe gardener®

Here is a short and to the point article with 10 great points to think about as you get started this spring. I tend to write really chatty posts so if I had written this it would be three times this long ; ) All of these points are key to a healthy, thriving garden.  

Lots of food for thought this week, eh? Hoping this lovely weather holds out for a while longer, while we get some work done. 

Nothing like a bit of sunshine and fresh air to raise one's spirits

Happy Sunday ~ Tanja